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History of the Black Family 

BY J. G. BLACK 

Samuel Black was born about the year 1785. His home was 
near Tobermore, Londonderry County, Ireland. This town was 
located about 20 miles southeast of the city of Londonderry, and 
about ten miles north of Cookstown. The only members of the 
family, so far as I am aware, were Samuel, John and Sarah. They 
were brought up on a farm and were typical Scotch Irish. 

When a young man, grandfather went over to Scotland, where 
he for a time engaged in work. On his return home he learned 
that his brother John was engaged to Miss Margaret Black, a young 
lady of the neighborhood. Though of the same name they were 
not relatives. When grandfather learned of John's matrimonial 
prospects, he said to him — "You do not need a wife; I want Mar- 
garet myself." Forthwith he courted and married her. They were 
married about 1814, and at the time of their wedding she was 
about 18 and he was about 29. 

However, John was not wholly discouraged ; he courted Betty 
Milligan and made all necessary plans to sail to America. Betty's 
folks did not approve of the prospective match. But when the 
time to sail drew near, John and Betty quietly slipped off to the 
parsonage, were married and then away to the harbor whence 
they took ship. On landing they found their way to Baltimore 
where they lived and prospered for many long years. Most of 
their descendants still live near Baltimore. 

Grandfather's sister Sarah married a Mr. Wilson, and they 
settled near New York City. They had one child, Mary Ann, who 
married Dr. Wood. Their home was at Jamaica, Long Island, 
where I visited them once in September, 1876. They had two 
daughters and one son. The latter was studying medicine when 
I was on my visit. 

Some of grandfather's relatives settled at Peach Bottom, 
a few miles north of Baltimore, but I do not know just what the 
relation was. I have heard the Blacks of Baltimore speak of them, 
but I never met any of them. 

Grandmother Black had a brother Robert who had twelve sons, 
and who came to America and settled in Kentucky. I have never 
known in which part of the state. When father was a young man 
he was walking across the field one day when some surveyors 
from Kentucky were in the neighborhood. One of them saw him 
and remarked, "I'll bet that man's name is Black; he walks just 
like the Blacks in Kentucky." Grandmother had an uncle whose 
name was Wilkinson. He was a favorite with her and this ex- 
plains how brother Davy got his middle name — Wilkinson. When 
grandmother was married, this uncle made her a wedding present 
of a linen bedtick which he had woven. It was blue and white 



in narrow stripes. Grandmother used this tick for about 50 years. 
A small remnant of it grandmother gave me more than 50 years 
ago. Miss Emma W'oodway stitched the border of it. It is now 
1 10 years since it came into grandmother's hands, then a blooming 
bride. 

As a boy in my teens 1 used to take great pleasure in hearing 
grandfather tell of the way he cut the peat for fuel. They used a 
long narrow spade, the blocks were cut from the bog in pieces 18 
inches long and 4 or 5 inches square. These were laid out on the 
ground in the sun for a time, and when partially dried they were 
"rickled" up in piles and when more thoroughly dried were hauled 
home and stacked up near the door of the cottage, ready for winter 
use. When burning, this fuel makes a "loud smell" but it is all the 
Irish peasants can afford. Each tenant has the right to cut the 
necessary fuel from the bog. In grandfather's time the oats were 
cut with a sickle. When the crop was in shock the tenant must go 
to his lord's dwelling and take off his hat and inform his lordship 
that the oat crop is in shock. The lord sends his man out to put 
his mark on all the shocks that form his share. Then the tenant 
may haul his own share to his home and flail it out and winnow 
it. From this grain he makes his "porritch." It is supplemented 
by his potato crop. The hard work, the very small returns, and 
the limited chance for young people to gain anything beyond a 
meager subsistance made a great many of the Irish seriously to 
face the question of going to America. 

So it was that grandfather took ship in Londonderry in June, 
1828. The family then consisted of grandfather, grandmother, 
John, David, William and Jane. They engaged passage for Phila- 
delphia. The vessel on which they embarked was a "condemned" 
but they did not know it at the time. The first night after leaving 
port a hard storm came on. The captain drove all passengers below 
and nailed down the hatch. All on board thought they were going 
to the bottom. But the old vessel weathered the storm and at the 
end of seven weeks the passengers were put ashore several miles 
below Philadelphia. The captain of the vessel was afraid to come 
into port for he was liable to arrest for sailing a condemned vessel. 
In those days crossing the Atlantic was not a picnic. None of the 
modern conveniences and comforts were to be had. There was 
less care in those days bestowed on passengers than is now given 
to cattle that are shipped. 

Through all those seven weeks at sea, grandmother was sea- 
sick and scarcely able to lift up her head. The memory of that 
voyage was always a sorry nightmare to her. 

On reaching the American shore they were all hungry. They 
found a new article of food. They had never seen roasting ears 
or Indian corn. At first sight they thought the ears were made 
up of a series of layers of grains that extended all the way to the 
center. To their great surprise they found a big stick running 
through each ear. 

The family soon found their way to Baltimore, 100 miles 
southwest of their landing place. How they made the journey 

2 



I do not know. There were no railroads then. Landing in Bahi- 
more, grandfather soon found his brother John who had been 
there some years. He was a professional weaver. Of course 
he and Betty were glaJ to see the newcomers. It did not take 
grandfather long to find work. In 1827 the Maryland legislature 
granted the Charter of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. In 1828 
the work of building was begun. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, 
signer of the Declaration of Independence, and last survivor, laid 
the corner-stone at the age of 90 years. At first this road was run 
by horsepower. In 1830 the first locomotive was put on the track. 
It ran from Baltimore to Ellicotts Mills, 15 miles wcs^,. Grand- 
father lived for some time at Ellicotts Mills and helped to build 
this railroad. 

But soon the western fever affected grandfather, and in 1830 
he moved his family to Wheeling. Here he found work, and the 
older boys, John and David, were employed in a cotton mill in 
that new city. For two years they made this their home. While 
here grandfather became acquainted with a Mr. Robert McConn 
who had a brother, Thomas McConn, then living in Guernsey 
County, Ohio. He told grandfather that there was an 80 acres 
cornering his brother's farm that had not yet been entered. 

In February, 1831, grandfather walked from Wheeling to 
Zanesville by the National Pike and entered this eighth section. 
He then made his way to the new farm, engaged Mr. Thomas 
McConn to clear and plant a half acre in potatoes, dig and bury 
them in the fall, and build a cabin. On his way back to Wheeling, 
grandfather met a man on his way to Zanesville to enter this same 
piece of land. In February, 1832, there was a great flood in the 
Ohio. I have often heard father speak of it as one of his mem- 
ories of Wheeling. In early March of that same year grandfather 
engaged a teamster to take his family and household goods out to 
the new farm forty miles west from Wheeling. They followed 
the National road to a point three miles west of Old Washington, 
then called Beymerstown, at which point they must take to the 
woods, as open roads were scarce in those days. Before starting 
through the woods they sent word to Mr. John Eagleton who was 
living on Endley's run. He took his team and helped to haul the 
wagon through the woods to the farm, one and a half miles from 
the National road. When at last they came to the southeast corner 
of the new farm, grandfather said, "Boys, this is our farm ; what 
do you think of it?" John answered, "I don't think much of it." 
Now their long journey is ended. Almost four years have passed 
since they said good-bye to Old Ireland. In those years they have 
travelled 2,500 miles. The home they have been looking for is 
at hand. Here they were to prove themselves and hew out a 
new home in an unbroken wilderness. They were glad to find a 
permanent resting place. I am very sure grandmother thanked 
the Lord for the promised land to which she had been looking with 
longing heart all these years. 

I heard my mother tell that she — then a girl of ten — remem- 
bered hearing the day of their arrival that a new family had come 

3 



into the neighborhood. How httle did she then think that one of 
the new arrivals was to be her future husband. 

On reaching the new farm the family found the log cabin, but 
as there was no chimney in it, they temporarily occupied a log 
house used for school purposes which was located 100 rods north- 
west of their own new cabin. Very soon after entering this old 
school house, a neighbor woman, Mrs. Bratton, came in, bringing 
a loaf of "salt risin" bread which grandmother sliced and gave 
to the hungry children. They had been used to yeast bread. When 
William smelled it he said, "Pooh, it stinks. I won't eat it." So 
grandfather took a sack and went to look for the potato pit. He 
soon returned with a sackful. Grandmother told me when she 
boiled them they burst open and were dry and mealy ; the best 
potatoes she ever ate. 

At once all hands were busy fitting up the new cabin, and 
clearing the ground for the spring crop. A chimney was built 
and a floor laid, probably of puncheons, and a door hung, and it 
was ready to welcome the new arrivals. How glad they were to 
have a house and farm they could call their own home. Now the 
primeval forest which covered the farm must be cut away and 
burned and the soil made ready for growing corn, wheat, oats, 
flax and potatoes. How long until they were able to buy a team 
and cow, I do not know ; but no doubt they soon discovered these 
were necessary for a growing family on a new farm. 

Bread and meat may be the staff of life, but not the only 
necessities. It was impossible to run a farm even in those primitive 
times without money. To get this necessary medium of exchange 
was no easy matter in those days. In the 30's the whole country 
was going through a very serious financial struggle, and money was 
hard to get. Grandfather and David put in many weeks each year 
breaking limestone to be used to keep the National Pike in good 
surface, for there was an immense traffic over this great thorough- 
fare. By hard work and careful economy the family were soon 
in circumstances of comparative comfort as such things were then 
considered. The young folks had very limited school privileges 
in those days. A few weeks in the winter under very primitive 
conditions, with teachers of very limited preparation, made up the 
school year. The course of study included the three R's : namely, 
Readin', 'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic. The chief training the young 
people received in those early days came through the liberal use of 
the ax, mattock, plow and hoc. The result was a vigorous and self- 
reliant generation. 

I have heard my father say that he, when yet a boy, went back 
once on a visit to Wheeling. He started from home in the early 
morning, and entered Wheeling just as the sun was going down. 
A pretty good day's march. 

Not many years had passed when it became evident that the 
original log cabin was no longer large enough to accommodate the 
family that was increasing in number and growing in stature. As 
timber was plentiful, a new and larger log house was erected about 
one hundred yards north of the old cabin and much nearer the 



spring which suppHed the family with water. This spring bubbled 
up at the bottom of a steep sided ravine that ran across the whole 
farm from west to east and drained into Saltfork. 

When the new house was ready for use, the old cabin was put 
to a new use. A similar log structure was placed about 25 feet 
to the east of it and a continuous roof covered both buildings and 
the space between, which was called the "barn floor." The west 
end of the barn was used as a stable with a hay loft over it, and 
the east end was a storage room for hay and grain. For many 
years the barn floor was the place where the wheat and oats were 
flailed or tramped out and winnowed by the fanning mill, for the 
days of the threshing machine had not yet come. 

Not long after the first clearing came the planting of an or- 
chard and soon the family had apples, peaches and pears. Of 
course the family soon became acquainted with the neighbors. The 
McConns were the nearest and were soon on friendly terms. One 
day David and John were visiting at the McConns and received a 
pup which they took home with great pleasure. 

A few days after, the McConn boys came over to visit the 
Blacks. On their return home their father said to them, "Well, 
boys, what name did they give to the pup we gave them?" The 
boys replied, "They named it 'Foryou.' " "What ! You say they 
named the dog for me?" "No," said the boys, "They named it 
'Foryou.' " Then the father saw the joke. The boys at least en- 
joyed it. 

How busily the family were occupied with their daily duties 
may be seen in the following incident. One day grandmother went 
over on an errand to the Brattons, a half mile to the west. Mrs. 
Bratton thought grandmother was not aware that it was the Sab- 
bath. She walked out some distance with her as she was starting 
home and incidentally dropped the remark that it was the Sabbath. 
Grandmother was horrified and hurried home to inform the family 
who were very busy at work. Of course all were greatly surprised 
and at once ceased their labors for the next 24 hours. 

Although all the land of the immediate neighborhood had been 
entered and most of it occupied by the owners, yet but a small part 
of it was cleared and under cultivation. The removal of the dense 
forest meant a slow and strenuous labor that is hard for the pres- 
ent generation to fully appreciate. 

When grandfather came to the woods in 1832, the deer, red 
and grey fox and ravens were still here. Whether the last bear 
and wolf had gone I do not know, but they had not retreated very 
far. Nor was it long since the Indians had forsaken their old 
trails. For quite a good many years after the Blacks came, it was 
not an uncommon thing to find the horns of the deer in the woods. 
Wolf -den, a deep gorge on father's first farm, was the last home 
of the wolves in that neighborhood. 

Through all the years since landing in America all the family 
had been kept very busy and they were prospering, but they were 
not without their sorrows. They buried two children in Baltimore, 
two in Wheeling and two in Old Washington. One of this last 



group was a little girl named Sarah Ann. As she was playing in 
the yard, one of the horses ran, across the yard, jumped over the 
child and kicked her on the head. Of their 13 children. 7 lived to 
mature years. The large fatality among the children was probably 
due to the very strenuous life demanded of mothers in these early 
days, and the necessary lack of the care that children need in their 
earlv months. The following are the names of the children that 
reached maturity in the order of age : John, David, William, Jane, 
Margaret, Samuel and James, the last three born in Ohio. When the 
family had spent several years in the second house, all agreed that 
a new hewed log house larger in every way would be more iitting 
and comfortable. I do not know the year in which this third 
house was built. It was located a few feet to the north of the 
second, and was a much more roomy and commodious building. 
The first floor was divided by a board partition into two rooms, a 
bed room and a living room. At the middle of the north side was 
a capacious outside chimney whose base was stone and upper part 
of brick. In the northeast corner of the living room a closed-in 
stairway led up to the roomy second story which was sometimes 
used as a bedroom. In the firei)lace hung a strong iron crane and 
at the west side of the fireplace about five feet above the floor was 
fastened to the wall a good cofTee mill which I many a time saw 
grandmother use when she was getting a meal. In the west side 
of the house was the front door. On either side of it was a win- 
dow, one in the living room and the other in the bedroom. The 
front door was approached by a substantial puncheon porch without 
a roof. Along the east side of the house was a roomy porch under 
roof and boarded in at the north end. At the south end the floor 
of the porch was 7 or 8 feet above the ground. About the year 
1857 or 1858 grandfather engaged Uncle James Oliver to put up a 
series of posts to which was attached a strong wire on which a tin 
bucket with pulleys ran down to the spring by gravity and was 
drawn back by a strong cord on a pulley. This mechanism saved 
many a trip to the spring. 

After the family moved into this third house the old house was 
used for years for a loom house and smoke house, ^^'hen a boy 
I used to see Aunt Margaret at her weaving in this old house. 

Down by the spring stood a commodious spring-house. As 
the water flowed away from the spring it ran through the spring- 
house trough in which the milk crocks were set and kept cool. A 
grouj) of trees grew al)Out the spring house and in summer it was 
a very shady, cool jjlacc. Here the churning and washing were 
done in the warm weather. Once when a heavy thunderstorm was 
passing grandmother sent Uncle Sam down to take the crocks out 
of the trough to ]ircvcnt their being flooded. While uncle was in 
the spring house a bolt of lightning struck a tree a few yards away. 
When grandmother heard the crash she hurried down to see what 
had happened. She found Sam standing in the spring-house door 
pale with fright and almost "scared stiflf." 

About the year 1851 grandfather and father made a visit to 
Baltimore. They went by stage coach to Cumberland, Maryland, 

6 



along the National pike and the rest of the way by the B. &. O. 
railroad. On their return they left the stage coach about Nelson's 
or Grandfather Oliver's and walked home. It was about midnight 
or after it, and father stepped along at a good pace. Grandfather 
after trying in vain to keep up finally called out, "What the thunder 
are you walking so fast for?" I can recall seeing father the next 
morning after his return. He brought back with him a few potatoes 
called "Pinkeyes" which he cultivated for years. 

Not long after this trip grandfather met with a serious acci- 
dent that lamed him for life. As he was on his way to church not 
far from the Hyde place his horse scared and threw him. The 
fall broke his hip. This accident occurred about the year 1852. 
By using a cane he could get about the house and yard but was 
not able for work that called for activity on foot. He could chop 
the wood when hauled to the yard, and in summer he cut peaches 
and pared apples for drying, and in winter he did the family knit- 
ting. 

When the family had labored on the new home for ten years 
the four older members, who were born in Ireland, had attained 
their growth, and began to think of the very important matter of 
making homes of their own. I do not know in what year Uncle 
John was married, but it was about '43 or '44. He married Martha 
Stewart, and their first home was on the forty acres lying west of 
the McConn farm and south of the Foy place. How long they 
spent on that farm I do not know, but they next moved to near 
Kimbolton where William was practising medicine. About the 
year '57 they moved to Wisconsin where he lived several years. 
I do not know where David first met Miss Elizabeth Oliver. But 
he courted her for some time, and they were married January 2, 
1845. The family knew when David had spent the evening at Oli- 
vers by the red mud on his shoes. On one of these occasions David 
thought to mislead the family. So on his return home late at night 
he left the main road at Wolf den and passed westward and ap- 
proached his home from the west. John struck his trail next morn- 
ing in the snow and followed it around until he found it led back 
to Olivers. Notwithstanding all the strenuous hard work demanded 
of them it is evident the young people in those early days had 
their fun and enjoyment in life as they went along. It is a sorry 
time when the young people cannot have their share of the fun 
and frolic that make for them the spice of life. David had al- 
ready bought 80 acres lying along the west side of his father's 
farm. On this farm he built a log house into which they moved in 
the fall of 1845. 

I do not know in what year William was married but it was 
about 1850. His first wife was Susan Frame. She lived but a 
few years, leaving one son, John F. Black. The Doctor married 
again about 1855. His second wife was Miss Maria Luccock 
of Kimbolton. 

Aunt Jane was married to John Oliver, mother's brother, 
March 6, 1849. They made their home, while he lived, on grand- 
father Oliver's farm located a mile north of the stone bridge on 



the National pike, 3 miles east of Cambridge. About the year 1856 
uncle John Oliver died, leaving three children. Soon after his 
death aunt Jane and her three children moved into the vacant house 
on father's first farm. Here she lived a year or two until after 
grandfather Oliver's death. 

In the spring of 1853 my father moved his family to a newly 
purchased farm of 130 acres located on Endley's run, one mile 
south of his first farm. At this time the family consisted of Will- 
iam, John, Margaret Ann, David Wilkinson and Elizabeth Isabel. 
Though we moved in early March the roads were dry and the 
weather fine. 

In November of 1854 aunt Margaret was married to James 
Stewart, oldest son of James Stewart, a cousin of mother's. I 
well remember the evening of their wedding, as I heard the tooting 
of horns by the crowd of young men who were not invited to the 
wedding. They gathered about the house and made a most hideous 
racket, ringing bells, firing guns and blowing horns. Grandfather 
had gone out and stood quietly in the corner of the chimney. He 
always carried a good strong hickory cane. When the merry mak- 
ers came close to his hiding place, grandfather made vigorous use 
of his cane. He laid it heavily on the shoulders of a big Irishman 
named Hugh Dyer. The women of the family came out with hot 
water that made the crowd keep a respectful distance. The young 
married couple made their home for several years on one of his 
father's farms. I can recall being at their home once when a boy 
and aunt Margaret had fried eggs for dinner. Years after they 
bought the farm adjoining them on the south and made it their 
home for a long time. As a school teacher I boarded with them 
one term. 

About the year 1858 uncle Sam went to California with cousin 
John Blair. The latter had been in California for two or three 
years and was back on a visit and Sam returned with him to seek 
his fortune in the far west. He spent nearly all the rest of his life in 
various parts of the wild west. He was unfortunate ; in fact, soon af- 
ter getting to California, while mining, he met with an accident that 
resulted in a broken leg. I believe he was once back to Ohio, but 
I was not at home and so never saw him after he first left home. 
The last 1 heard of him he had made a visit to Tekama, Nebraska, 
where uncle John Black had settled many years before. As far 
as I can learn fortune did not smile on uncle Sam's efforts and he 
became discouraged and at last laid him down in an unknown 
grave. Uncle Sam's going left uncle Jimmy at home to run the 
farm and look after the old folks. About the year '61 he married 
Lucinda English and they made their home with the old folks 
for nearly three years. In the fall of '63 uncle Jimmy went out 
to Montana to seek his fortune in the gold mines of that region. 
It became my duty to spend part of the winter of '63-'64 at grand- 
father's to take care of the stock, do chores and go to school at 
Independence. 

In the summer of 1867 grandfather was taken seriously sick 
and in a few weeks died at about 83 years of age. The first 43 

8 



years of his life were spent in Ireland, and the last 35 years on 
the farm in Ohio which he had wrested from the wilderness. Ex- 
cept for his lameness he had always been in rugged health. All 
his teeth were sound and firm and his natural senses alert. He 
had come to America that he might make a better home for himself 
and family than he could hope for in Ireland. He sought a more 
hopeful outlook for his children. He lived to realize his hopes ; 
his had been a life of strenuous toil. He had walked in the fear 
of God and died in the faith. The old family Bible was kept near 
the fireside. 

After grandfather's death the old home was broken up, and 
grandmother went to live with aunt Margaret Stewart. She took 
with her uncle Jimmy's son, John S. Black. Aunt Lucinda took 
her younger child, Maggie, and went west. I do not know what 
became of her. Her daughter married and lived at Tekama, Ne- 
braska, where uncle John had settled when he moved from Wis- 
consin. Grandmother lived to about 90 years of age and died at 
Cambridge about the year 1883. I had not seen much of her in 
the last ten years of her life as I was not at home much of that 
time. Her's had been a long life of hard toil and earnest effort 
in the interest of her family. She had an abiding and firm faith 
in God and she always loved to hear His Word. To have endured 
the physical strain and nervous tension of all those many long 
years is good evidence of an unusually strong constitution. She 
spent her strength in the interest of others. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF JOHN OLIVER 

BY J. G. BLACK 



Grandfather Oliver's name was John and his father bore the 
same name. Tlie home of this family was Tulnaloobe, County 
Fermanagh, Ireland, about 40 miles south of Londonderry. His 
father was twice married and Grandfather was the second child of 
his second wife. Her maiden name was Isabella Cummings, and 
she died 18 months after Grandfather's birth. He was born about 
the year 1786 and while a minor he sailed from Londonderry on 
the second day of June, 1806, on the ship Jason, then under com- 
mand of Cai)tain Oliver Blunt. I heard my mother say that while 
on his sea-voyage Grandfather was in constant fear of being cap- 
tured and pressed into the British service by English ships, as this 
was a common practice of the English navy at that time. 

After landing at Philadelphia he found his way to Tuscarawas 
County, Ohio. Little is known of his history for the first ten 
years after landing in America. These years were chiefly spent 
near Uhrichsville, Tuscaraw-as County, Ohio. Within these years 
he took two important steps. He met and married Elizabeth 
Caruthers and purchased a farm of 170 acres. This farm was lo- 
cated in Guernsey County, Ohio, 5 miles east of Cambridge. On 
this farm he and his wife settled in 1816. A few years before, the 
Zane Trail had been cut through the farm. This road was then 
called "The Old Wheeling Road." By the side of this road Grand- 
father built his first log cabin. He bought this farm in 1809 and 
paid $300.00 for it. Soon after coming to it he sold 30 acres ofi' 
the east end for $300. The original tract was made up of two hun- 
dred-acre lots of military land that had originally been entered by 
a lieutenant of the Revolutionary War, and on his death was sold 
by his widow. The patent which is now in possession of his 
grandson, Sam Oliver, was signed by President Andrew Jackson. 

When Grandfather settled on this farm, all about it was wild- 
erness. He built a strong log pen near the house and in this kei)t 
his livestock at night to protect them from the bears and wolves. His 
first dwelling stood on the east side of the road and on the top of a 
hill that was part of the divide between Endley's Run on the 
west and another run to the east. The door of this house faced 
the northeast, the chimney southeast and a window looked out 
toward the southwest. The side of the house toward the road was 
occupied by the beds. This building was used as a dwelling for 
about 40 years. Grandfather occupied it for more than 25 years. 
Here most of his family were born and grew up ; and some of 
the older girls were married under its roof, which implies that some 
courting had been done there. I heard my mother say that the 
Indians sometimes stopped over night in this cabin as they were 
on their journeys. She said they showed dislike for light-colored 
liair by spitting at the children whose hair was light. 

10 



About the year 1828 the Government built the National Pike 
thru Guernsey County. This road ran thru the southeast corner 
of Grandfather's farm. Of course this new highway took nearly 
all the traffic from the old Zane road. So in the early forties 
Grandfather built a large two-story hewed log house at the side 
of the pike. Here my mother was married in 1845 and here Aunt 
Mary kept house for Grandfather as long as he lived. Grand- 
mother Oliver had died more than 20 years before her husband, 
whose death was in 1858. 

About nine years after Grandfather came to Guernsey County 
he took out his naturalization papers. He was then nearly 40 years 
of age. These papers were issued by the proper authorities in 
Cambridge, Ohio. They are now in the possession of one of his 
grandsons, Mr. Joseph W. Oliver, son of James Oliver, of Byes- 
ville, Ohio. 

My earliest recollection of Grandfather Oliver was about the 
year 1850 when I was a lad three or four years of age. Father 
had to haul a load of wheat from Washington to Zanesville. He 
took me with him to get the load. As we were passing Grand- 
father's place we stopped a few minutes and Grandfather came 
out to the wagon and put his hand down into the straw where I 
was sitting and made me believe he was about to take me out. 
Evidently he was not much of a hand to visit ; for I have no rec- 
ollection of ever seeing him in our home, tho I recall seeing him a 
few times in his own house. 

One day about the year 1830 Grandmother Oliver went two 
miles west to visit her daughter, Mrs. James Blair. My mother, 
then a little girl of seven or eight years, was with her. As she 
was on her way home she felt the pangs of childbirth coming on. 
She told mother to hurry home to inform grandfather. A neigh- 
bor, Mrs. Hill, was with her. Before Grandfather got to the scene 
the child was born. 

My earliest memory of the cabin which Grandfather first 
built was in the year 1853, shortly after we had moved down to 
the farm on Endley's Run. Uncle Nixon Oliver then lived in it 
and farmed for Grandfather. At the same time he was helping 
father to clear off the forest from his new farm. 

As children we sometimes visited our cousins in this old cabin. 
About the year 1855 Uncle Nixon moved his family to Sam Blair's 
farm a mile and a half north-west. A tenant by the name of Boley 
moved into the old cabin and lived there for a year or two. Very 
soon after Grandfather's death the farm was sold. It was divided 
by a line east and west into two equal parts. Uncle Nixon bought 
the north half and Aunt Jane spent her remaining days on her 
part. After the division of the farm Aunt Mary lived in a hewed 
log house on Uncle Nixon's farm. In the early '60's Aunt Mary 
was taken ill with a severe attack of blood poisoning that took 
her life in a few days. About the year 1867 Uncle Nixon sold his 
part of the farm to Aunt Jane and moved his family to Indian 
Camp in the northwest part of Guernsey county, where he had 
bought a farm. In this community he spent his remaining days, 

11 



and I believe some of his family are still in the same neighborhood. 
Uncle Nixon had married twice. To his first wife he had 
six children, Elizabeth, John, Sarah, Isaac, Mary Jane and Mar- 
garet Ann. Of these only Mary Jane is living at this time. John, 
the older son, died in a rebel prison during the Civil \\'ar. The 
children of the second wife I have not known since they have 
grown up. 

Gran father's oldest daughter married Aaron Decker and for 
several years they lived near Martinsburg, Knox County, Ohio. 
About the year 1850 father and mother took their family out and 
made them a visit. It was about the year 1857 that Uncle Aaron 
moved his family to Edgar County, Illinois, where he tarried for 
about three years. Then they all moved to near Fort Scott, Kansas. 
There the family anchored. Uncle wanted to move again but 
Aunt Deborah said "No" and she stayed. I have not seen any 
of their descendants since they left Ohio. 

Grandfather's second daughter. Belle, married James Blair 
when she was about 14 years of age. They had four children : 
John, James, Nixon and Elizabeth. The boys all settled near Fort 
Scott, Kansas, and Elizabeth married Samuel Bratton and her 
family grew up about Cambridge. I have not seen any of them 
since they were children. 

Grandfather's son James married Sarah Jane Woods. He bought 
the farm grandfather owned on the Run three miles east of Cam- 
bridge, Ohio. They had eight or nine children but quite a number 
of them died in their early years. Aunt Sarah Jane is yet living 
with a daughter in Byesville, Ohio, and is now somewhat over 90 
years of age. Uncle James died 20 or more years ago. 

Grandfather's youngest son, Henry, studied dentistry and 
lived in Canton. He died over 50 years ago and his wife and family 
moved to Martins Ferry where their daughter Josephine still makes 
her home. The oldest boy, John, died at Aunt Mary Oliver's when 
a lad. The second son. Will, died in Bellaire. 

Grandfather Oliver's sister, Margaret Oliver, married James 
Stewart, who was born in 1770 and his wife in 1777. To them 
were born eleven children. Of these, John, the eldest, was born 
August 29, 1803, and came to America in 1818. He landed at 
Quebec, went to Pittsburgh, then to Jefferson County, Ohio, and 
then to Muskingum County where he settled and spent the rest 
of his life. He married Mary Blair. They had five children that 
grew to maturity. 

James Stewart's and Margaret Oliver's second child was 
called James. He came to America and settled on a farm on the 
Run three nu'les cast of Caiubridge, Ohio. He married Eliza Blair 
and they had eight children, five sons and three daughters. This 
James Stewart was the fourth teacher to whom I went to school. 
He taught our school three or four terms. Fourteen years after 
I first went to school to him. his two younger children. Elizabeth 
and Henry, sat under my teaching at the Slaughter Hill School, 
three miles northeast of Cambridge, Ohio. 

Grandfather Oliver's sister Nancy married John Clendenning. 

12 



They settled in Indiana about 1800. In 1820 Nancy died of milk- 
sickness and her husband was killed by lightning in 1840. He had 
taken shelter under a tree during a thunder storm and lightning 
struck the tree, killing him. They had six daughters and two sons, 
whose names were John and Charles. This family was among the 
very early Methodists of Indiana. They were a thrifty, well-to-do 
family. 

Grandfather's brother, Nixon Oliver, a bachelor, lived in In- 
diana and accumulated some wealth. I recall that my mother re- 
ceived a share of his estate after his death. He was the youngest 
son by the first wife. 

William Oliver was Granfather Oliver's full brother and the 
oldest son of the second wife. He came to America but I don't 
know where he settled or anything of his after history. 

In 1844 Grandfather Oliver had serious thoughts of going 
to Ireland to visit his relatives who still remained at the old home. 
The papers necessary for his identity were made out, written by 
his son-in-law, James Blair, and attested by Isaac McCollum who 
was then justice of the peace in Center township, Guernsey County, 
Ohio. (See original copy.) For some reason he failed to make 
this contemplated visit and the papers came into my hands thru 
my mother who received them, I suppose, from Aunt Mary. I 
think that one thing that Grandfather had in mind in this intended 
visit was that some income was due him on account of a life lease 
that had been drawn up when he was but a child. The paper above 
referred to explains. 

The original owner of Grandfather Oliver's farm did not 
settle on it and after some years 30 acres were sold off the west 
end to pay the tax which was due but had been neglected. This 
30 acre lot was a part of the second farm which my father bought 
from Probate Judge Zodak Davis in the year 1852. 

I suppose Grandfather never made any effort to"* recover 
this part as he probably felt he had all the land he could take care of. 



13 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF DAVID BLACK 

AND FAMILY 

BY J. G. BLACK 

David Black, the second son of Samuel and Margaret Black 
was born September, 1818, and was a lad of ten years when the 
family came to America. He worked with his father on the home 
farm and at breaking stone on the National Road until after he 
was 21. Many a week did he spend on the stone pile. The con- 
tracts which he took were sometimes in West Virginia and some- 
times along the pike between Wheeling and Zanesville. By this 
work he earned enough money to pay for the first farm he owned. 
This was an 80 acre tract that lay on the west side of his fathers 
farm. Tin's farm had been entered and was still owned by a man 
in Kentucky whose name was Hays. When father bought this 
land about 1843 there had been no imi)rovements made. It was 
all unbroken forest. In the winter and early spring of 1844 he 
cleared and planted in corn the iield that was at the middle of the 
east line. 

On the second of January, 1845, he married Miss Elizabeth 
Oliver. The wedding occurred in the second house built by her 
father near the east side of the pike. The officiating minister was 
Reverend Wallace, who at that time lived at Cambridge. Ohio. 
The day after the wedding the young couple rode on the little gray 
mare, called Nell, up to grandfather's to the "Infair" or reception. 
On the next day they started on horseback to Muskingum county 
on their wedding tri]). On their return they made their head- 
quarters at Grandfather Oliver's for the spring and summer; both 
were busy making necessary preparations for going to house- 
keeping in the fall. Father was clearing the land and making his 
first log house, and mother was busy getting ready the articles 
needful in a new home. In the early fall of 1845, they moved 
into the new house ready to meet all the duties and responsibilities 
necessary to making a good home. In October a new boy came 
to stay with them. They named him William for an uncle. The 
household equipment sufficient in those early days would be con- 
sidered rather scant in modern times. Father and mother did not 
have a clock for some years after they began housekeeping. They 
told the time of night by the stars and the noon hour by the shad- 
ow of the porch post on the floor. Their first clock was bought 
from a Yankee peddler and was made in Connecticut. From my 
early boyhood I can recall seeing father wind the clock the last 
thing before retiring at night. It stood on the mantel over the 
fireplace and ticked ofT the seconds for many long years. 

In a very new country jjasture fields are not likely to be abun- 
dant. So during the summer of 1846, mother had to walk about 
half a mile to the field where the cow was in pasture. William 

14 



was then able to crawl about the floor. To keep him away from the 
fire while she was out to milk the cow, mother tied a towel about 
his waist and fastened him to the bed post. In a few short years 
fields of wheat, corn and grass had replaced the forest and the 
whole country was completely changed. In place of the gloomy 
forest, there had sprung up fields of waving grain and blooming 
orchards. On the 6th of May, 1847, a second boy came to the 
household. One week after his arrival, mother was up and cooked 
the dinner for the persons who helped father that day to plant 
his corn. Not much time lost in those days from the regular 
routine work. 

This new arrival they named John, in honor of grandfather 
Oliver. In those days the farmer produced enough corn, oats and 
hay to feed his own stock. For ready money he must sell wheat. 
The nearest market was at New Comerstown, 25 miles northwest, 
and at Zanesville, 30 miles west on the National Pike. Wheat 
sold at 62;^ cents per bushel, and it took two days to deliver 25 
bushels at either of these markets. Making money by farming 
was not a very rapid process in those days. But by hard work and 
close economy, each year added a small sum to the surplus. I 
can recall seeing father come home one evening from one of his 
trips to New Comerstown. A black dog had followed him and 
proved to be a worthless cur. So one morning about daylight father 
asked me if I wished to go with him to hunt squirrels that were 
taking up the young corn. The dog followed us, but proved to 
be of no use as a hunter. So father put a bullet into his head and 
rolled him down into a ravine. I stood behind father as he aimed 
his rifle at the dog. I thought he held the gun to a shoulder and 
in a horizontal position. I puzzled a long time over the course pur- 
sued by the bullet Evidently my observation was not correct. 

In my early days the loud report of a gun filled me with great 
fear; but later I enjoyed it. The house in which we lived stood 
on the top of the dividing ridge between Saltfork on the north, and 
Leatherwood Creek to the south. The latter was about 3 miles 
away, and the former two miles. The log stable was about a 
hundred feet east of the house, and at the north side of it was 
a log corncrib and the space between was the wagon-shed, all 
under the same roof. About one hundred feet west of the house 
was the spring that supplied water for the house and the stock. 
Hard by was the spring house where the milk and butter were 
kept in the summer. Just below the spring-house was the water- 
ing trough where the horses and cattle went to slake their thirst. 
A few rods west of the spring was a substantial pigpen of logs, 
the east end of which was under roof. A group of oak trees 
stood about the spring house, making it a cool shady place where 
the children had their playground. One of the memories of that 
spring still clings to me. When three or four years of age, I 
got down on hands and knees to drink and tumbled in head first. 
How I got out I do not know. A few yards southeast of the 
house stood the smoke-house, with a shed projecting toward the 
house. In this building were kept the family meat and salt. One 

15 



day our cousin, Elizabeth Blair, went into the smoke-house to 
get meat for dinner. William hooked the door and then began to 
bombard it with stones. An interview with mother soon after 
led him to think it was not so funny after all. I recall one morn- 
ing mother went into the smoke-house and found a 'possum had 
taken up his residence there. He was knocked on the head and 
thrown out — my first memory of the marsupial family. One day 
when the meat was smoking the children thought there was not 
enough fire, so we went to the stable and gathered quite a pile of 
straw and hay. We soon had quite a bonfire and the grease was 
dripping from the meat. Fortunately mother discovered the sit- 
uation in time to prevent a conflagration. I have forgotten the 
remedy she used to prevent a recurrence. A few yards to the 
southwest of the house stood a black oak about 50 feet high. 
My earliest experience in throwing stones was in trying to throw 
over the top of that tree. A few yards west of the smoke-house 
was the ash-hopper. This supplied the lye necessary in making 
the family soap. Once I climbed to the top of this hopper — about 
five feet — and noticed a bumble-bee alight and crawl into a hole 
near the bottom. Of course I was curious to know somewhat 
about that bee. So I began to climb down. My clothes caught 
on the edge of the hopper and left me suspended so I could kick 
the bottom where the bees were located. Of course they all 
came out to see the cause of the racket. How they did sting me. 
My outcry soon brought father to the rescue. He snatched me 
from the hopper and rushed me into the house where mother 
drove the bees from their hot pursuit. 

A few feet north of the house was a rail fence which sep- 
arated the yard from the garden. At the northwest corner of 
this garden was a dead white oak. One day when there was a 
thunderstorm passing over, the lightning struck this tree and a 
piece of it broke the window on the north side of the house. The 
sudden crash scared us children so that we ran screaming to 
mother. Some time after I remember, father cut down the tree 
and used it for firewood. A few rods east of the stable stood an- 
other dead tree which was cut for wood. Just as it was falling 
the family bulldog rushed at it, and was caught and instantly 
killed. He was a savage and tenacious brute. Once when mother 
tried to drive some cattle from the yard, this dog gave chase 
and father had to follow him a half mile before he could call 
him ofif. 

Just south of the house and stable lay the orchard, consisting 
of apples, peaches and cherries. Father set out the trees very soon 
after buying the farm, for they were bearing fruit plentifully 
before we moved from the place. There were Seek-no- further, 
Russet, Queen Early, Northern Spy, Pippin, Harvests, Redstreak, 
Vandover and Bellflowcr. Once when the sheep were pasturing 
in the orchard we found two horny fellows had been fighting and 
got their horns locked around a peach tree. The next morning they 
were standing peacefully on opposite sides of the tree. The quarrel 
had been settled. I recall seeing father shear his sheep one day, and 

16 



turn them out in the woodlot west of the house. That night the dogs 
found them and killed and wounded more than half the flock. The 
dogs had come more than a mile from their home. They were traced 
to their owners and killed. 

When William was about five years of age he was taken down 
to grandfather Oliver's and started to the Old Center School. This 
gave the little fellow a mile and a half to walk each morning and 
evening. In two weeks he was taken with some form of epidemic, 
and was brought home and so ended his first school experience. 
The next year William and I were started to school at the Old 
Center Meeting House a mile northwest of our home. The first 
day mother took us as far as Blackburns, our neighbors to the 
north, and we went with their children to the school. 

I was but four years of age and shy and should have been at 
home. Our first teacher at this school was Oliver Ferguson and 
the second was Mr. Thrasher. The school equipment was of the 
most primitive kind. I have no recollection of reciting in that 
school though I probably named the letters as the teacher pointed 
to each and gave me its name. My first recollection of the fire- 
cracker goes back to this old school room. One of the big girls 
placed the cracker near me as I sat near the stove. When it ex- 
ploded I was badly frightened. 

The third term of school which William and I attended was 
taught by William McConn. The school was held in an old log 
house which had formerly been the McConn home and stood on the 
hill west of Wolfden. Here gathered the young folks from the 
Pattersons, Hills, McConns, Blacks, Blackburns and Warrens. 
I recall one evening when I came home from school mother gave 
me a pair of mittens which she had just finished. The next day 
I wore them to school and put them in my hat. In the evening 
when I took up my hat the mittens were gone. Some other boy 
wanted them and I went with cold fingers. Mr. William McConn, 
our teacher, was later a minister and was preaching in the west. 
On the death of his mother he came back to Ohio to attend her 
funeral. The train on which he was traveling had a collision near 
Newark, Ohio, and he was killed. He was brought home and 
buried with his mother. Little did I dream at that time that 
I should one day be teacher to Mr. McConn's brother's grand- 
daughter, Miss Louise McConn of Shadyside, Ohio. 

This first farm which father owned was the family home 
for seven and a half years. By that time there were five children 
in the family, William, John, Margaret Ann, David Wilkinson and 
Elizabeth Isabel. 

About the year 1851 in March, father had a severe attack of 
hmg fever. I have a distinct memory of seeing the doctor bleed 
him. John Blair, our cousin, held the vessel into which the blood 
flowed. It was probably the following year that all the children 
had the scarlet fever. Davy was very dangerously ill for some 
days and he was partially deaf for years as a result of the fever. 

In early March of 1853 father moved his family to the new 
farm recently purchased which was located on Endley's Run one 

17 



mile south of his first farm. Tlie morninu^ \vc moved WilHam and 
I went with the first load and helped to drive the cattle and sheep. 
When we arrived at the farm Aunt Mary Oliver, mother's young- 
est sister, was there to receive us and to put the household things 
in order as thev arrived. Mother had to look after the packing and 
loading of household goods and at the same time care for the baby 
that was seriously ill with pneumonia. When evening came and 
bed time approached, Margaret Ann asked mother when we were 
going back home. The new home was a hewed log one story house 
which had an old tumble-down chimney at the west end and a 
door in the south side, a window in the east end next the road 
and a second window in the north side. This last window was made 
into a doorway and the old chimney replaced by a good stone 
structure and a covered porch put along the south side. In this 
humble home the family lived seven and a half years and in the 
meantime, Mary Jane, Samuel, Sarah Rebecca, Martha Evaline, 
Tames Nixon, and Oliver were added to our number. James Nixon 
lived but three months. His was the first death in the family. 

A few rods north of the house was a small stream which we 
called the "first run" and a little farther a second stream which 
we named the "far run". Both these emptied into a third stream 
which we called the "big run". This last stream was a source of 
great pleasure to us boys for here we found a swimming hole and 
a place to fish. 

When father bought this second farm or "lower place" as 
we called it. it had been in the hands of renters for some years 
and as a result was not in good condition. The border of the big 
run was a thicket of wild i)lums, briars, elders and willows. A 
considerable part of what had once been cleared had been allowed 
to revert to nature again. One condition required of the renters 
was to make 200 rails per year and build them into fence. They 
made the rails and laid them up on the old fence rows. Uncle 
Nixon Oliver and Old Benny Simpson, a colored neighbor, put in 
a good many days helping to get the farm into shape for the plow. 
There were no idle hands about the place. When the writer was 
six years of age he was given a hoe and put into the cornfield with 
orders to "get busy and stay on the job." I stayed but did not 
work full time. The corn field that year was a ridge and the rows 
ran across the ridge. While father was on one side and I on the 
other I sat down until I heard the chains on Old Nell rattle. Then 
I jumped and speeded along the row just as though I had been 
busy every minute. Before William had reached his teens he could 
take the team and plow up to the "Upper place" and put in the 
whole day turning over the sod or harrowing in the crop. Nearly 
every year there was new ground to be put in order for the plow. 
Early spring meant building new fence or repairing old. Then 
came the planting of the sj^ring crop. This was followed by cul- 
tivation of corn and sheep shearing. Then more corn. Then har- 
vest, threshing, corn-cutting, fall-seeding, and corn husking. So 
the seasons went by filled with some form of useful work. When 
November came on we were ready to enter the winter school. 

18 



Usually we had a new teacher each term. Some of these were up- 
to-date and some were never meant to be teachers. Reading, Spell- 
ing, Geography and Arithmetic were the branches that made up 
the daily schedule. The way to learn a language is to write our 
own thoughts in that language. And yet we were never required 
to write a sentence. It was like learning to swim without water. 
None of our teachers taught us to address a letter for the mail, 
or write a business note. 

After a few years the building of a granary became a neces- 
sity. A carpenter, James Dugan, was put on the job.. When it 
was ready for the roof I punched the shingles and carried them 
up the ladder and Dugan nailed them in place. When the spring 
of 1860 came father thought the time had come to build a new 
house that would better fit the size of the growing family. For 
some time previous he had been gradually gathering lumber with 
this purpose in view. So Mr. William Cook, a professional car- 
penter, was put on the job. He began his work in April and fin- 
ished the job by November. It was a substantial frame building 
of one story, 40 x 28 feet, four rooms, a hall and a porch on first 
floor and two rooms upstairs. This was a great improvement over 
the old home that had sheltered us through seven winters. We 
moved into the new house Thanksgiving time and were glad to 
make the change. Within five years from the time we moved into 
the new quarters two new members were added to the already large 
family. These were Eliza and James Ferguson, and two were 
taken from our number ; these were Margaret Ann and James 
Ferguson. The little boy was taken suddenly, either by croup or 
by a grain of corn lodging in his windpipe. The Doctor was not 
able to decide. 

How incessantly father and mother labored in the interest 
of their family. Mother spun the wool and flax and wove hund- 
reds of yards of cloth from which she made our clothing until we 
were nearly grown. How many an evening did she spend knitting 
our socks and stockings. As many as eight or nine of us at school 
at one time. It took a good big basket to carry sufficient lunch 
for such a crowd. A covered spring wagon carried nine of us to 
church each Sabbath day. Our pew was well filled. 

Soon after the new house was occupied the old house was re- 
moved and a barn put in its place as the old log stable had gone 
somewhat to decay. Into this barn there was stored each summer 
sufficient hay to feed the horses and cows through the winter. In 
the old house we had always used wood, but in the new coal became 
the standard fuel. This saved some of us a good amount of chop- 
ping. The introduction of mowing machine and reapers led to 
the hanging of the scythe, sickle and cradle up on the granary loft. 
In due time the older members of the family began to hear the 
call of duty that led them to labor elsewhere. William kept to the 
business of farming, the writer went to college, Davy went west 
and engaged for years in teaching. The older girls married and 
made homes for new families. And so the old home began to 
decrease in number. In the fall of 1886 Eliza, the last of the 

19 



children at home, was married, leaving father and mother with 
an empty house after 41 years of housekeeping. 

After a year or two in her own home, Eliza and her husband 
came back to the old home to help care for the old folks and 
manage the farm. But the arrangement was of short duration. 
To mother's and father's great sorrow, Eliza was taken from them 
in 1891, leaving a little boy to mother's care. In their grief and 
disappointment they were comforted and supported by an abiding 
faith in the infinite wisdom of a loving Father, who had sustained 
them hitherto. 

In 1895, January 2nd, the family and near relatives gathered 
at the old home to celebrate the Golden Wedding. Two or three 
of those who had been at the wedding were present. About 
twenty grandchildren were there. How many changes those fifty 
years had made ! In 1897 the family met again at the old home 
to stand around the bedside of our mother as she quietly closed 
her life and entered into the rest to which she had been looking 
and waiting for some months. For 52 years she had given her 
time and strength unsparingly to make a home for her family. 
Through these years of strenuous toil, close fellowship with God 
had been the secret of her daily strength. When the call came she 
was glad to enter into the rest prepared for her. 

Soon after mother's death the old home was sold and father 
went to William's to spend his remaining days. His had been a 
life of hard work. In my last conversation with him he said, 
"The end can't come too soon for me." In February, 1903, that 
time came and he was glad to enter his rest after a journey of 
more than eighty-four years. His remains were laid beside moth- 
er's in the Old Washington Cemetery. The funeral service was 
conducted by Doctor Weir of the Cambridge Church in which 
father had for years been an elder, and in which mother had in 
early life confessed Christ. 

Father and mother lived at a time and under conditions that 
demanded sterling character and strenuous effort in order to make 
the kind of home that measured up to their ideal. W^e, their child- 
ren and grandchildren, cannot fully estimate the self sacrifice and 
patience which entered into their daily life in order that we might 
be ready and worthy to take their place when their work was done. 

Each morning and evening the family was gathered in the 
sitting room, a short portion of scripture read and a prayer offered. 
East Sabbath morning the family was conveyed to church and took 
part in the public worship. In due time every member of the 
family confessed. Christ and by a consistent life proved the con- 
fession sincere. The prayers of our parents were answered and 
their soul's desires were satisfied and gladly they entered into the 
rest God has prepared for his people. 



20 



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